A Debt Repaid
by Calico
Summary: Aftermath following the battle of the Green Death.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N I made an offer on my DeviantArt account to do story fills of at least 1500 words. This was a request from Shimy (Bintavivi at DA): _I'd like to see what you'd make of the journey back to Berk after the battle against the Green Death. I know, lots and lots of people have written about that already, but here is where I suggest slight modifications. _She then forwarded an outline of plot points to use.**** I may do a second part later, so that it completely bridges the two scenes.**

**Warning: rating is for some graphic descriptions of Hiccup's leg and the amputation as well as one swear word.  
**

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Ash and smoke and silence covered the volcanic island. Humans and dragons alike stood by anxiously watching their chief and the broken dragon that had brought them here. Stoick knelt before the Night Fury but he was only thinking of his son and the many mistakes he had made in regards to him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered not knowing if he'd ever even find a body to set sail to Valhalla.

The dragon – Toothless the boy had called him – heaved a pained sigh and shifted onto his side. Large eyes watched Stoick and the Viking had an eerie sense of being weighed and measured. Then with a slow rumble the great wings spread open and Stoick could hardly trust his own eyes: Hiccup lay inside cradled by the dragon's legs, pulled against its chest like a baby.

"Hiccup!" Stoick cried in great relief and reached for the boy. Toothless relaxed his hold almost immediately and Stoick scooped his limp son into his arms, almost afraid to hope. Pulling his helmet aside, he placed his ear to Hiccup's chest. An eternity seemed to pass before he was certain he heard the faint slow beat of a heart. "He's alive!" Stoick exclaimed and the Vikings behind him erupted into enthusiastic cheers. A small whine escaped from the dragon. Stoick placed his hand on Toothless' head. "Thank you for saving my son," he said solemnly. At that moment Stoick knew: now matter what had happened in the past, no dragon would be harmed by him or anyone in his tribe. This was a debt to be paid and repaid into eternity.

"Well, most of him." Stoick frowned at Gobber and then looked back down at Hiccup, letting his eyes take in the whole boy. His breath caught painfully in his chest as he saw the mangled remains of his son's left leg: the fabric of his trousers was frayed and charred; the flesh beneath was shredded and caked with blood; and the now visible bone was shattered beyond repair. Even as the boy lay in his arms, blood was seeping out onto the ground.

Footfalls sounded behind him, which were without doubt the other children that had come to their aide. Those children who had tormented Hiccup his whole life had rallied behind him in this crazy mission. "Keep them back, Gobber. They can't see this."

"All right, back the lot of you!" Gobber hollered. "Nothing to see here."

"But how's Hiccup?" one of them asked. Stoick thought it was the male Thorston twin. Gobber herded the small group away barking orders while the kids fired question after question at him.

Stoick pulled off his great cloak and laid it on the ground before gently setting Hiccup on top of it. He prayed to the gods that Hiccup's eyes stayed closed; he couldn't bear having Hiccup deal with the pain of the upcoming ordeal. Stoick unbuckled the harness that the boy wore over his tunic. Though Stoick couldn't take much time to appreciate the craftsmanship, a small sliver of pride shot through him knowing Hiccup had created it himself. Using his knife he cut a long portion of the harness and slipped it around the top of Hiccup's leg, pulling it as taut as possible to staunch the precious blood draining out of it.

Toothless moaned softly and poked his nose at Hiccup sniffing and making small crooning sounds. Stoick's heart clenched. How was this beast showing more compassion for his son than he ever had? "It'll be all right," he heard himself saying, unsure which of them he was trying to comfort.

"Well I set them kids on a task to keep them occupied – they're making a litter to carry the boy on…you know after we're done."

Stoick closed his eyes. He had been in enough battles to be hardened to such realities; after all, he himself had tended to both of Gobber's wounds. But his son was a different story. Fears raced through him unbidden, of all the horrors he had seen, the wounds that eventually proved fatal. This was his son, the last reminder of his beloved wife, how could he take a knife to his young flesh?

"Stoick," Gobber said gravely, placing a hand on the bigger man's shoulder. "We need to do this now. I'll do the cuttin' if you can't."

"No. It'll be me. It has to be me."

Gobber nodded and handed him a sword. "I've already set it in the fire to purify it."

The sword wasn't the largest Stoick had ever held, but he could have sworn it was the heaviest. He stood up and Gobber took his place to hold the boy's shoulders. Stoick moved to the left side, now standing right next to Toothless who watched him intently. "I have to do this," he said to the dragon. "If I don't, we can't stop the bleeding and he will die." Gobber watched him thoughtfully but stayed uncharacteristically silent as he communed with Toothless. For his part, the dragon made a small resigned noise and laid his chin on Hiccup's chest. "Okay, then," Stoick said and gripped the sword's handle, which was already feeling slick from his sweat.

Gobber shifted the right leg to the side to give him space. He glanced at Hiccup's face, a few cuts and singes, but otherwise unmarred, almost peaceful in its deceptive sleep. _I'm sorry_, he thought again. Clasping both hands on the sword's hilt, he set it on the leg just below the knee marking the strike point, and then raised it over his head. With a grunt filled with anguish and regret, he sliced the sword down with his might. It did its job well, cleaving the flesh and bone easily. The jolt of impact reverberated up Stoick's beefy arms and deep into his chest as the sound echoed louder in the eerie aftermath than would be normally expected. He loosed his grip and the sword fell with a clatter to the ground.

Gobber immediately set to work in bandaging the wound and Stoick knew that the worst was yet to come.

"We need to get him off this island, or all of this will have been for nothing."

With a nod, Gobber said, "Aye, I know that. Spitelout's seeing about getting at least one of the ships seaworthy again, but it'll take most of the night."

Stoick sighed heavily as he watched the dragon affectionately lick at the small cuts on his boy's face.

)))(((

Astrid jumped at the loud sound behind her, eyes immediately going to the spot Toothless had landed. For a heart-stopping moment she thought that the chief had done the unthinkable, but as she looked on she could see that the dragon was very much alive, if weakened and possibly injured from the fall. She stood with her arms folded across her chest, frowning, as she watched Gobber and Stoick continue to tend to Hiccup, though she couldn't see the boy at all. Stoick had pronounced him alive, but that's all they knew. She could only imagine the horrible injuries he may have received, each one worse than the last. Why the secrecy? The truth couldn't be any worse than these dark thoughts. Mostly she just wanted to see with her own two eyes that he was still in Midgard, though she knew she had no right to such a liberty. Not yet at least.

Crunching footsteps approached as Snotlout came along side her. Behind them the other three were still attempting to create a usable cot with remnants of a sail, some rope, and whatever wooden debris they had managed to scrounge, though it mostly consisted of Ruffnut and Tuffnut trying to strangle each other while Fishlegs attempted unsuccessfully to keep the endeavor organized.

From the corner of her eye she could see Snotlout watching her, but didn't bother to acknowledge him until he finally spoke. "So…you're pretty worried about him."

"Aren't you?" she countered icily.

One beefy shoulder shrugged. "I mean, sure, 'cause, like, he's my cousin and all."

Astrid blew an irritated breath into her bangs and remained silent.

"But you," he continued, "I've never seen you this interested in _anyone_."

"What are you saying?" she asked quietly.

"I thought…we sort of had something."

"We didn't."

"But before, when I was on the dragon's head, you said, 'You're the Viking,' like, like you were into me."

Astrid groaned. "I was just being supportive. Of everyone."

He huffed in frustration. "So now you and Hiccup…?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"That's what I said."

"Astrid," he said sharply, gripping her arm and forcing her to turn to face him. "What the Hel happened? Just yesterday you wanted to slaughter the guy for beating you in Dragon Training, then today you're his biggest cheerleader and rounding us all up to fly to the rescue on his say so, and now you're all ready to weep over his broken corpse?"

"He's not dead!" she shouted, pulling her arm from his grasp. The other three teens turned towards her outburst, and then seeing her angry scowl, quickly returned to their work. "I don't need to explain anything to you, 'Lout. When we get off this gods' forsaken island - when he wakes up - then…I don't know what's going to happen. But you and I," she gestured between them, "have nothing between us except your spilled blood. And unless you want some more, you'll take this as my last warning: leave me alone."

"It's the dragon, isn't it? He gets a Night Fury and suddenly he's Mr. Cool?"

Rage flooded through her in an instant and her fist started moving before he'd even finished speaking, catching him cleanly across the jaw. Snotlout's head shot back but he retained his feet. With a snarl she leaped forward burying her hands in his vest and pushing him back onto the ground. She dropped her knee into his stomach and began shaking him. "You son of a bitch! Don't you ever say that again!" she screamed into his face. "You don't know anything!"

She continued yelling incoherently as she found herself lifted into the air, Fishlegs' arms wrapped around her waist and carrying her a safe distance away from the other boy.

"Put me down!"

"Only if you promise to calm down," Fishlegs responded.

"I swear by Thor if you don't put me down right now I'll chop your legs off!"

Fishlegs sighed and lowered her to the ground. She whirled around and slapped his chest, though with little force behind it. Behind him Snotlout had pushed himself to his feet and glared at her as he made a show of wiping the dust from his clothes. She made a lunge for him and Fishlegs caught her easily, holding her back.

"This isn't doing any good, Astrid," Fishlegs told her mildly. "We know you're upset, but just ignore him and think about helping Hiccup."

"Snotlout's got a point though," Ruffnut said with a raised eyebrow.

"So, like, you're in love with Hiccup now?" Tuffnut asked scratching his head. "Did I miss something?"

"You'd miss your own nose if it wasn't attached to your face," his sister replied elbowing him in the nose for emphasis.

"Ow!"

"I'm not…in love…with anyone!" Astrid seethed through gritted teeth. How was she supposed to explain these sudden emotions to them when she couldn't explain them to herself?

"Okay, let's just all take a moment to breathe," Fishlegs said and took in an exaggerated breath in an attempt to be helpful. Unfortunately no one was paying attention to him.

"Look, he just saved the entire tribe from being dragon food! That's got to mean something, right?" Astrid said to them.

"With our help," Snotloud, holding his hands on his hips.

"Yes! Our help on dragons that we would never have known to ride if it weren't for him. He figured all this out by himself, and then risked his life trying to show everyone…and what does he get in return? Banished and disowned. But he still came out here and saved everyone. I for one just want to thank him for what he did." She pointed her finger at each of the other teens. "And I suggest you all do the same as well."

Fishlegs nodded eagerly; Ruffnut and Tuffnut shrugged with a curt nod of agreement; only Snotlout's face remained impassive as he continued to glare at Astrid. She sighed and looked off to the side. That was when she noticed Gobber walking towards one of the bonfires that had been set up on the beach and started running towards him, the rest of the teens following along in curiosity.

"How is he?" Astrid asked as she came up alongside the old blacksmith. He gave her a strange look as he dumped something into the fire. "Gobber?"

"Eh, there's really no hiding it now, I suppose," he mumbled. "We had to take off part of a leg."

Behind her the other teens murmured solemnly at the news. "His leg? Really?" Astrid asked, feeling sick in the pit of her stomach.

"Aye. But the worse is yet to come if we don't get home soon. Stoick and I need to work on getting a ship floating. Can you lot watch over him?"

"Of course," Astrid replied immediate. "Fishlegs, go grab the litter." Fishlegs nodded and trotted back to grab the makeshift cot as the rest walked over to Hiccup's body. Stoick was kneeling, holding Hiccup's hand tenderly. She smiled at him as she came up. "We'll take care of him, sir," she said quietly. Next to him Toothless murmured at her and she risked holding a hand out to give him a quick pat on the nose. "How's he doing?"

"The dragon?" Stoick asked as he stood up. "Won't leave the boy's side, but otherwise seems fine. Hiccup hasn't woken yet. I don't know if I should curse or thank the gods for that." Fishlegs set down the litter and Stoick gently lifted Hiccup onto it. "Take him close to the fire," Stoick instructed the group. "Keep watch over him, and make sure the leg doesn't start bleeding. With luck we'll be able to set sail at sunup."

"We have to stay all night?" Snotlout groused. "I mean we've got rides home." He pointed over his shoulder at the four dragons that were milling around aimlessly, seemingly confused after so long in captivity.

"If you want to leave, then leave," Astrid said to him in a cold voice. "Make sure to say goodbye to your dad first." Snotlout's shoulders slumped at the implied insult. Then she looked at Stoick. "Sir, what is going to happen to the dragons?"

Stoick looked in the distance for a few moments and then turned his head to Toothless. "Any dragon willing to live peacefully is welcome in the village from here on out."

Astrid smiled in relief and he gave her a curt nod before walking towards the shore where the other Vikings were hard at work at repairing a ship. Then she looked down at Hiccup, half covered in his father's large fur cloak, his chest rising and falling with a semblance of regularity. She resisted the urge to sweep his tangled bangs aside and kiss his forehead.

"Okay," she said instead clapping her hands. "Let's move him, _carefully_. It's going to be a long night."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N So it's not like there aren't a ton of other things to work on, but this one was screaming the hardest ;)**

**Just a couple of responses to some anon reviews:**

**just me: Absolutely one hundred percent correct on the amputation. Normally I'm a stickler for research and realism, but in this case I'm going to wave my Artistic License card (printed on psychic paper, natch) and declare, "It's for teh drama!" Mea culpa.**

**Rylie: I completely agree about Snotlout in regard to Hiccup, however his confusion and frustration in the story is not really about him, it's about Astrid. But I know I made him seem like the bad guy, so the first part of this chapter is from his POV and will hopefully redeem him (and me) just a bit. **

**Thanks for reading!  
**

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Darkness had descended on the island bringing with it a cold deep enough to sting bones. Snotlout's husky build didn't provide nearly enough insulation to protect against the biting chill. The dragons had already retreated back into the warmth of the island. He had walked up to the hole the Vikings had burst open earlier and peered inside, but except for the softest reddish glow, no light permeated, though he was certain he heard an inquisitive growl from the Nightmare. It was strange, but he already seemed to miss her and hoped she would come out in the morning and return to Berk with them.

Rubbing his hands on his arms he walked over to the blazing bonfire. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were seated back to back, heads propped against each other with their helmets skewed to the side and snoring loudly. Fishlegs was lying on his side in the thick black sand, knees pulled up tight to his chest and muttering something unintelligible in his sleep, no doubt recounting some obscure fact only important to him.

Then there was Astrid. She was on her knees with her back to him. Hiccup was lying motionless next to her and from where Snotlout stood he could see the firelight shift and reflect on the kid's pale cheeks, making his freckles even more pronounced, thin lips partially open to expose those crooked teeth. Astrid's hands never stopped moving. She adjusted the cloak that covered him, or touched his face gently, or picked up a hand that had fallen limply to the side.

The anger Snotlout had felt earlier was still there, but quieter. It was true she had never given him any indication that she welcomed his advances, but he had simply taken that for a challenge to try harder. Isn't that what Vikings were supposed to do? But it had been his assumption – probably the whole village's as well – that they would wind up together. They were the alpha male and female of their generation after all. Their children would be the finest warriors, the strongest and fastest, and certainly the best looking. He could accept that she didn't love him; that was incidental. What was important was that he would have had the best and so would she.

But here she was, fawning over Hiccup, who was as far from the best as they were from Asgard. He could still remember the way her face had lit up that morning when she was gathering them all up to help and while she watched Hiccup show them how to befriend and ride the dragons – the way she had _smiled_. Astrid Hofferson simply didn't smile. Ever.

Hiccup made her smile.

Snotlout flicked his eyes to the side. There was one more presence around the bonfire: the Night Fury who sat near them. His gold-green eyes reflected the light back a hundredfold while the rest of him was lost in the shadow. Occasionally Astrid turned her head to him and murmured something soft and comforting, boldly stroking his nose with her hand. Comforting a dragon, comforting Hiccup. This wasn't the Astrid that he knew even yesterday. Then again, he looked all around him at the aftermath of the greatest battle any of them had ever experienced – none of them were the same Vikings they were yesterday.

They were supposed to be watching Hiccup in shifts, but Snotlout already knew she wasn't going to give up her turn. She was going to stay awake all night fighting fatigue and hunger to be the one at this side. That was the kind of person she was; she wouldn't relinquish this responsibility to anyone else. Finally having enough of the cold, he entered the warm aura of the fire and hunkered down next to her, which he realized belatedly placed himself between the dragon and Hiccup. The Night Fury wasted no time in making his displeasure known with a growl and flash of sharp white teeth.

"It's okay, Toothless," Astrid said softly. "He's not going to hurt Hiccup. _Are you_?" she finished pointedly at Snotlout.

"I'm cool." He held his hands up and smiled at the dragon. "Uh, what kind of a name is Toothless anyway?"

"I don't know," she said offhandedly as her attention was drawn back to Hiccup, smoothing aside the hair from his eyes. "I'll ask him when he wakes up." She sighed. Astrid actually sighed.

Anger was rising in Snotlout again, but he tamped it down. "Um, Astrid, about earlier…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm, uh, I'm sorry. I know it was the wrong time to talk about stuff like this. But maybe later, when we get home?"

"No."

"No?" he said in what sounded suspiciously like a whine.

"I'm not doing this again with you, 'Lout. I'm sorry for what happened too, but there's just nothing to talk about anymore. Let it go."

"Aw, come on, Astrid! Can't you at least tell me why?"

"Why? Why what?"

"Why him over me?"

She huffed in exasperation. "It wasn't like it was a contest. You were never in the picture, 'Lout, I'm sorry. But why him?" She looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. "Because he took a stand – against everything he had ever known and risking everything in his whole world to do what he knew in his heart was right. Would you have been that brave? Would I? I don't know," she whispered and cast her eyes down. "All I know is he makes me want to be better, not just stronger or faster, but _better_."

Snotlout had to look away from the intensity of her gaze while her words settled on him. He saw the flickering of the torches from the adults who were diligently working to get a vessel ready to ship out on the morning. "Your kids are probably going to be scrawny buck-toothed weaklings," he finally said in concession.

That actually made her laugh. The first time in sixteen years he'd successfully gotten her to laugh. "Maybe. But they'll be good scrawny buck-toothed weaklings."

Snotlout groaned. "That is the most un-Viking thing you have ever said."

She shrugged, but she was also still smiling, and her hand was resting on Hiccup's chest – in possession? protection? – he didn't know, only that she was touching his cousin in such a familiar way she would never touch him with.

Clearing his throat, Snotlout asked, "Have you checked the dressing yet?"

The smile fell off her face. "No. I haven't…couldn't…"

"Well you need to. Here, I'll help."

She moved aside and let him have access to Hiccup. Toothless sniffed and cried out at him pointedly, no doubt reminding him that the dragon was a fireball away if he did anything to harm the boy. Snotlout pulled the cloak off and felt his stomach flip as he saw the bloodied stump for the first time. Next to him, Astrid gasped and placed her hand on her mouth, eyes suddenly reflecting the fire in newly-formed tears. The bandages were red and seeping and Snotlout's hand trembled as he reached for the leather cinch on his cousin's thigh to tighten it.

He coughed to hide the sudden tremor in his voice. "We need to change them now. Can you go grab some new ones?"

She nodded eagerly and jumped up to scour the campsite, possibly turning over every rock on the island if necessary. With her gone, Snotlout looked down at Hiccup. He'd never understood how he and Hiccup could be so _different_; their fathers were brothers after all. Maybe he had been some great joke of the gods or set down on Berk to punish them for something. Snotlout had always assumed Hiccup would just end up getting himself killed in some strange way or another. Never in his life would he have imagined all of this.

"I guess I should apologize," he said quietly. "Though it still really kind of pisses me off. She's absolutely nuts about you. You! Not cool, man. Aside from that – the whole dragon thing? I was never really that interested in killing them, anyway. So I guess, props to you on that. I think flying over here was the greatest time of my life. And what you and, uh, Toothless did earlier with that monster dragon? That was impressive, won't lie to you. Though I was on its head! Going pow pow on its eyes. Don't forget that. But, anyway, I do hope that you pull through. Except for your leg of course, which, you know, sucks, but now you'll have a really cool scar, so that's a plus. Maybe we can even start hanging out or something. If you're not too weird, that is."

There was no response from the prone figure, which relieved Snotlout immensely. He turned his head at the sound of crunching sand as Astrid ran towards them with an armload of cloth. He wondered if she accosted every Viking on the island to cough up some garment for the cause. "Here," she said out of breath as she dropped down beside him.

Steeling himself, Snotlout unbound the bandages Gobber had placed earlier and tossed them into the fire. They sizzled and popped as the flames consumed them. Then he took a wide swatch from the pile and folded it a couple of times before pressing it against the wet, open wound. He desperately tried not to notice the exposed chunk of bone sticking out. "Hold this, will you?" he said to Astrid.

She hesitated only a second before leaning forward and placing her hands around the leg to hold the pad firmly against it. Taking a couple of larger pieces, he ripped them into thinner strips and began winding them around the stump and across it, building up the thickness and holding the whole thing in place. When he had deemed it enough, he tied off two ends and replaced the cloak over Hiccup's chest. He took a few gasps of the cool air to stave off the nausea that threatened him. The last thing he needed was to toss his lunch in front of Astrid after everything that had happened.

"Thank you," she said warmly and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Eh, no problem," he said, trying for nonchalant. "We'll probably have to do that a few more times tonight. You up for it?"

She nodded firmly, even as her cheeks blanched whiter than usual.

"Okay, then," he said, moving aside so she could take up her post next to Hiccup again. "I guess we just wait the night out.

Across the fire, Tuffnut snorted loudly and Fishlegs chattered endlessly. Snotlout sat watching as Astrid picked up Hiccup's hand and simply held it.

)))(((

Gobber wiped the back of his hand across his forehead absently. Despite the coolness of the night, he had worked up a sweat. As an island tribe, they were experts at ship building, but these were less than ideal conditions with improper tools and materials. They persevered, though, because they were Vikings, and by Thor that's what they did. He had just finished dragging a long board to the portside of the ship to fill in a hole and stood back waiting for his turn to help heave it into place when Stoick walked up to him.

"How are things going on this side?"

"Well enough. You?"

"Just about finished. I think we'll have time for a few hours sleep before we set sail." Even as he spoke, the chief's eyes drifted to his son. As Gobber followed his gaze, he saw Astrid and Snotlout bent over the boy working diligently.

"He's in good hands," he told his friend confidently. "He and his cousin may not have seen eye-to-eye in the past, but Snotlout's a good boy at heart. And that Astrid…" Gobber shook his head with a small smile.

"You saw it too," Stoick said quietly.

"Saw it! You'd have to be completely blind in both eyes to miss it."

"I never thought…I mean I'd assumed I'd have to pay some exorbitant bride price for a milk maid."

"I always told you there was something special about the boy."

"You said you thought he'd been born dim," Stoick reminded him dryly.

"Och! That was only after he thought it was a good idea to dry clothes on the forge! No, I knew he had it in him to amaze us all. 'A'course I thought we'd be amazed at his funeral, but amazed nonetheless."

Stoick glowered at his choice of words, but chose not to reply to them. "That girl, though. What if she's too much for him?" he asked instead, scratching thoughtfully at this beard.

"Too much?" Gobber exclaimed. "Bah! There's no such thing as too much ale or too much woman!" This earned him a chuckle. "She'll set him right, Stoick. Like Val did for you."

"Oh, now, Gobber, you can't compare the two!"

"Can't I? Valhallarama reined you in good an' proper. Your father was about at wit's end with your tomfoolery."

"Stop it," the larger man growled.

"And," Gobber continued as if nothing had been said, "he'll be good for her too. She's always been too wound up in herself for my taste. Too hard."

"She's a good Viking."

"But was she a good person? If none 'o this had happened, I fear she would have become a cold husk of a woman. Nothing but death and anger in her."

Stoick regarded him thoughtfully. "This war with the dragons has taken so much from us."

"Aye." Gobber nodded sadly. "But it's all going to change now. Because of your boy."

Gobber saw his friend smile in the moonlight. All these years of worry, guilt, and no small amount of embarrassment had taken their toll on Stoick, but it wasn't too late for them to start again. Gobber had always been fond of the wee lad, even as exasperating as he was, almost like his own son, lost so many years ago. Nothing would make him happier than to know Stoick and Hiccup had come to a peaceable accord.

"Oy, if you two are done wagging yer jaws, we got a ship to finish over here!" Spitelout called down to them from the ship's bow.

"Let's go," Gobber said. "Sooner we get home, the sooner I can change me undies!"

))))((((

The great fireball lifted in the sky signaling another day. The Vikings had all eventually made tiny nests in the sand to sleep, and now they raised themselves, stretching and yawning. Toothless hadn't slept, though he desperately wanted to. He hurt. He hurt even more than when the strange vines and stones had pulled him out of the sky, but he wasn't as scared. Hiccup was still close by and alive. Toothless had sat up the whole night just listening to his rider's heartbeat. But he wasn't alone. The girl sat close by as well. She had only moved a few times in the night, one of which was to pull the charred and ruined gear off his back. That had been a relief and alleviated some of the pain, but the rest was inside. There were some broken places, he knew. His wing sat at a strange angle and it hurt to pull it close to his side. A good night's sleep would help, but for now he couldn't sleep, he could only watch.

Hiccup's pain was far greater than his own. He'd lost a paw, one of the big ones the humans walked with and since they were too deformed to walk on four paws that would seriously limit his mobility. He would need Toothless! Would they still be able to fly though?

The girl and the other boy human were talking. They had had harsh words before, which worried Toothless, but now their words were soft and no cause for alarm. Then the other young humans roused from their nests and came over to look at Hiccup. Toothless couldn't sense any malice from them, but he was still concerned. Too many people around Hiccup, cutting Toothless off from him.

The Night Fury heaved himself up with great effort. His right front paw hurt the most. It was the first to hit the ground when they fell and now it felt loose and wouldn't do what he wanted, but that didn't stop him from crawling forward and pressing his nose between a pair of the young humans.

"Toothless!" the girl cried with a start. "You shouldn't be walking around."

He mrred at her softly and pressed forward until he could nuzzle at Hiccup's neck. Then his legs grew too weak, and he dropped down just breathing in Hiccup's scent.

"It's okay," she said softly and scratched along his ear flaps. "We're going home soon. Then we can all rest and you can get better."

Toothless rolled his eyes at her. He needed fish and sleep, but Hiccup needed him more.

Noises from above grabbed his attention and he looked up to see the four dragons emerge from the volcanic nest, blinking and rested. They regarded the Vikings around the island cautiously before noticing the young ones around the bonfire and as a cluster scampered over. This seemed to amuse the young humans as they greeted the dragons happily with scratches and pleasant words. The Hideous Zippleback wrapped its two necks around the twin pair in a firm embrace while the Gronckle peered up at the large boy with wide eager eyes. The Deadly Nadder preened and danced from afar eagerly until the girl approached her with an affectionate pat on the neck. The Monstrous Nightmare was most aloof of the lot, hunkering down and slowly tossing her head back and forth, but the dark-haired boy eventually met her with a respectful hand to her snout. This pleased the large beast enough to lap at him with her tongue.

"All right, kids! Ship's ready to sail. Time to go home."

"We'll fly," the twins announced.

"Me too," the large one said.

"Yep, same here," said the dark-haired boy.

"Sounds fine to me. More room on the boat the better. Astrid?"

The blonde looked down at Toothless and Hiccup and then said, "I'll stay with them." She looked back at the Nadder. "Hopefully she'll follow on her own."

"Okay. Help me get him on board?"

Toothless watched helplessly as they picked Hiccup up and carried him to the floating rock. He didn't want to go back on the rock for fear of being strapped down again, but his fear for Hiccup was far greater. He made an attempt to follow them, but he couldn't move very far for very long and was only about halfway across the beach when they returned.

"Oh, Toothless," the girl said sadly. "Gobber, I think his front leg is broken. Possibly a wing too. How are we going to get him on the ship?"

"Well, same way we got him on the first time I suppose."

Before he knew it a flurry of activity grew up around him. He allowed hands to lift him and maneuver a large false wing that had been used to catch the wind on one of the rocks underneath him. Then they dragged him along the sand towards the floating rock. It wasn't a pleasant form of transportation, but it was quicker and less painful than trying to pull himself along. Once at the rock the wing beneath him was attached to vines and folded up around him like a cocoon. The largest Vikings on the rock pulled at the vines lifting him into the air. Toothless' nose was sticking out and he sniffed in interest as the ground fell away from him without even the use of his wings, similar to the last time, though he was able to appreciate it more without having the hard vines holding him in place. As he reached the top of the rock and was swung even with it, he saw Hiccup lying there and started crooning and honking eagerly to reach him.

"Easy there, beast! Don't want to be flipping yourself off now and hurting yourself even more, do you?"

Eventually he was set down on the hard surface and the wing was loosened around him. He tested and found he had complete freedom of movement, plus his mouth had not been sealed shut. He hauled himself to the boy and settled down as comfortably as he could. The large man with the face full of fur approached him. This was the man that had taken him last time, who had wished him nothing but ill will on the voyage over, but now that ill will had vanished.

"We're going home," Fur-face said to him. "All of us." The fur parted to show his small teeth, just as Hiccup had done that day in the cove. It amazed Toothless that this gesture of showing your weapons was a sign of goodwill and trust instead of dominance and aggression, but so be it. Toothless made the smile-face back and blinked wearily. He had to trust them now, for his sake, for Hiccup's sake, even for the sake of the other dragons. Things were different now. They wouldn't fight and kill and steal. They would live and trust and maybe fly.

Fur-face seemed to approve of his smile-face and gingerly reached his hand out to him, letting it fall on Toothless' head, as he had done the night before. Then he turned away and shouted for the rock to move. Toothless sighed and nuzzled Hiccup. The girl was on the other side, eyes focused on Hiccup. Toothless didn't know what to think of her. She had been loud and aggressive when she first came into their cove, then she had become quiet and soft. It wasn't unlike what had happened with Toothless, first wanting to attack the humans, then not. Maybe it was all Hiccup. Maybe he had the magic to transform anything from its worst to its best. But Toothless was too tired to ponder that further. There were more important matters to worry about now as the gentle swaying of the rock carried them across the water.

Home. Sleep. Fish. And, of course, Hiccup.

Once Hiccup woke up, all things would be right again.

The end.

* * *

**Okay, so I didn't quite make it back to Berk, but close enough, right ;)**


End file.
